During the Prime Minister’s visit to Canada in the coming days, the agreement for the acquisition of new Canadair firefighting aircraft will be finalized, as revealed in an interview given by Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the major Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail”.
“This is a significant purchase for Greece,” the Prime Minister stated, noting that the total cost for procuring the new aircraft from the Canadian De Havilland amounts to approximately 360 million euros.
The agreement entails the purchase of five DHC-515 aircraft through the “AEGIS” equipment program for the needs of the Fire Brigade and an additional two through the European Union’s rescEU mechanism for civil protection. The latter two will be based in Greece and will operate regularly in the country, but their priority will be European assistance missions in case of major fires in another country.
The newspaper notes that Greece, like Canada, is facing increasingly severe fire seasons, and our country aims to strengthen its fleet of firefighting aircraft.
In addition to the agreement for the new Canadair aircraft, the Prime Minister is expected to meet with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, engage with the Greek-Canadian community and diaspora, and present to Canada’s business community, a member of the G7, the investment opportunities offered by the recovery and growth of the Greek economy.
In the interview, Kyriakos Mitsotakis describes the 41-year gap since the last official visit by a Greek Prime Minister to Canada as “inexplicable,” given the strong ties between the two countries. “I had prioritized officially visiting Canada to engage with the Greek-Canadian community and discuss the economic aspect of our cooperation,” Mitsotakis notes.
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According to “The Globe and Mail,” during his visit to Canada, Mitsotakis will convey the message that Greece’s economy is no longer a “lost cause” and that the country is open to investments aiming to become one of the technology and logistics hubs of the Mediterranean. He also adds that the Greek economy is achieving one of the best performances in Europe.
Specifically, the newspaper emphasizes that in recent years, Greece has followed a strategy of tax relief, fairer bankruptcy law, rationalization, and digitalization of its public services, accelerating privatizations, and relieving its banks of a large number of non-performing loans so they can lend again.
The article also features a recent statement by Canadian major investor Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax, which has significant assets in Greece, who described Greece as “the best country in Europe for investments”.
